77
by toujours-eccentrique
Summary: On his eighteenth Birthday Harry recieves a package from his deceased Godfather. The package contains part of Sirius's old diary, documenting the summer during the time he was eighteen. Will it change Harry's thoughts about his Godfather?
1. Happy Birthday

Harry turned eighteen without even realizing it. The past few months had been such a whirlwind of grief and change that Harry very rarely even checked what date it was. And so on that Friday morning when Ginny approached him with a delicately wrapped parcel it was with a look of confusion that Harry greeted her. Ginny stared at him. "Happy Birthday," She said.

"Birthday?" Harry repeated groggily. He hadn't long woken up. He had been staying at the Burrow for three months after Mrs Weasley had insisted that it was the best place for him. However Harry felt like quite a burden, and had promised to have his own place by Christmas.

"You're eighteen," Ginny reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Harry said as it dawned on him.

Ginny laughed. "How could you not know its your Birthday?" She asked.

"I've been distracted," Harry explained.

Ginny passed him the parcel with a kiss then dropped down on to the bed to sit beside Harry as he opened it. Harry carefully unraveled the pale blue ribbon and tissue paper to reveal a pair of hand knitted red woolen gloves each with a golden Snitch emblazoned on them. He took them out of the wrappers and stroked them.

"Don't laugh," Ginny warned, "I know it's not much, but I've been keeping mum company since... you know, and she's been showing me how to knit."

Harry looked up at her and smiled. "They're brilliant," He said. He wanted to add how touched he was that she had remembered his Birthday, but Ginny kissed him before he could open his mouth. Harry loved being able to kiss Ginny whenever the mood struck him, it felt good to have his feelings out in the open. So much had changed since the war but this was definitely one of the better aspects.

"You should come downstairs, everyone has presents for you," Ginny announced.

"Lets hope they've made me the matching hat and scarf," Harry teased.

He swung his legs out of bed and was about to follow Ginny out of the room when he heard scratching at the window. Harry turned to see a majestic looking owl clawing at the glass, a flat package attached to its back. Exchanging puzzled looks with Ginny, Harry went over to let the owl in. It flew gracefully around the room before landing on the bed.

Harry removed the package and the owl flew instantly from the room. The package was wrapped in brown paper, there was no writing. Harry slit it open with his wand and two things fell out: a weathered looking letter and what looked like a torn section of somebody's diary. Harry was instantly suspicious; the past had taught him that you shouldn't trust an object even as innocent looking as a diary. Especially a diary. Harry opened up the folded letter and dropped it to the floor immediately, his heart beating fast.

"That's Sirius's writing!" He cried.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked incredulously.

"Positive," Harry replied firmly. He retrieved the letter from the ground to read it.

_Dear Harry, _

_First of all, Happy Birthday! It's not everyday a man turns eighteen, and with a life that has so far been as full and rich as yours I know there can only be greater years to follow. And well done. I'm not sure what I'm saying that for, but I know that I'm right in doing so. I took the liberty of arranging for this package to be sent to you on the day of your eighteenth Birthday when it occurred to me that it's not likely I'll be around to see it. If by some chance I'm wrong, and right now I'm still alive, perhaps even in your company as you read this, then sorry for being an over cautious, cynical fool. If I was right then I'm truly sorry to have left you, and please consider this letter my formal goodbye. The few years I spent getting to know you were some of the happiest of my life. And I'm proud to call you my Godson. _

_And now on to the package. Enclosed is part of the diary I kept in my youth, the part that follows the summer when_ I_ was eighteen. There are so many wonderful tales I wish I had the time to tell you, and so I hope that this journal will console you somehow, and give you a better view of the man I was. Brace yourself, it's quite shocking stuff - after all your father is involved! _

_Happy Birthday Harry. _

_Your Godfather, Sirius. _

Harry could feel his arms prickling with goose bumps. Wordlessly, he passed Ginny the letter to read. He wasn't sure how to feel. The scars that had been left from Sirius's death were ripping open again, and Harry was drawn back to the summer where he grieved alone at Privet Drive. But also there was a rush of great happiness and affection. Sirius had cared enough to arrange this for him. He had known that the dangerous situation he had found himself in wasn't likely to end well, but he hadn't wanted to leave Harry feeling completely alone.

"Are you going to read it?" Ginny asked Harry when she had finished with the letter.

"Yeah," Harry said, "I'll just read the first page for now. I'll be down in a minute."

Ginny nodded again, placed the letter on the bed, and went downstairs. Harry sat back down with the diary in his hands, which were shaking slightly. He had no idea what to expect. The only thing left to do now was read.


	2. The First Entry

**Thank you all so much for putting this story on alert! I have to warn you that diary form isn't something I've had a lot of experience writing in, so if at first the writings a bit sketchy I apologize. And a warning, from here on in there might be a bit of adult content. Also, I used a dodgy online spell checker that completely messed up this chapter, so if some words are in the wrong order or it seems like there's a word missing its the spell checkers fault. Anyway, happy reading! **

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><p>1st July 1977<p>

"What the fuck, Pads?"

James froze as he came in to his kitchen, clad in a maroon dressing gown with his hair messier than usual. It wasn't the greeting I had been hoping for but I couldn't really blame him. After all, if I had woke up to see James casually sitting at my kitchen table when I wasn't expecting him to be, I would probably have said the same. Or something worse.

"Your mum let me in. Then she made me some toast," I explained.

"Total star she is," James said a little grumpily. He was always cranky in the mornings, waking up to his ugly mug for seven years had taught me that much. I watched him as he fixed himself some cereal.

"I just thought you should know I'm running away", I said.

James paused to stare at me. "Er, right. Any reason?" He asked.

The reason was staring James right in the face in the form of my nose caked in dry blood, the result of the latest argument with my dear father. It had all started when he found the Muggle motorbike parts I was hoarding in my room. I'm convinced Kreacher tipped him off, the treacherous little bastard. My father began his usual rant about how anything to do with Muggles was tainted, and what ensued was the biggest argument ever to occur in the House of Black. I swear the ceilings were shaking. It wasn't anything I wasn't really used to until my father punched me in the face to which I responded with some comment about him fighting like a Muggle. It really kicked off then, ending in me storming upstairs to pack.

"You walk out of this door boy and that's your inheritance gone!" My father yelled.

"Keep your inheritance," I called back, "I don't need your filthy mone."

Which, now I think about it, is sort of a lie. True, I don't want a penny off _them_, but a few galleons would be nice seeing as I have no where to stay. I caught the Knight Bus to James's house to tell him of my predicament. And then there we were, sat in his kitchen. I thought about his question.

"I've just had enough," I shrugged

"Hm. You should get that nose fixed, though," James advised. He slid in to the seat opposite me.

"No problem," I replied, pointing my wand directly at my face, "Episkey! AH!"

"Moron," James mumbled, mouth full of cereal.

I span my wand around on the surface of the table, stopping when it began to shoot out sparks that hit Dorris the cat.

"I've got no idea where I'm gonna stay," I sighed, leaning back in my chair, "Where's Hogwarts when you need it? I think I'm going to miss those comfy beds."

"You can shack up in the spare bedroom for a bit if you want," James offered, then he added, "I think this calls for a Marauders gathering. We should go to the pub, start celebrating our freedom."

James got dressed, sent owls to Remus and Pete, then we set off to the pub in the village. James's village can be a little boring sometimes, the residents are all about one hundred years old. Nothing much ever happens. But I suppose that's ideal if you're a family trying to hide the fact that you're all wizards. We shuffled in to the tiny pub which stank of old pipe smoke and was vacated by old men in flat caps and golf jumpers.

Living in a Muggle village meant that James's father kept a little stash of Muggle money handy in the house. After much confusion and bickering the both of us managed to pay for four pints before settling in to seats in the corner. Remus arrived first, looking pale and rugged as usual. He rubbed the dark shadows underneath his eyes as he sat down.

"Rough night?" James asked kindly.

"And the last night, thank God," Remus muttered.

Peter scuttled in about half an hour later. He's late for everything these days, says his mum keeps getting ill. For some reason I'm suspicious. I don't like the way his eyes shift around when he talks. Maybe I'm just paranoid. So the three of us spent a productive afternoon getting pissed. When we got back to James's his mum had made us all a huge chicken pie. God love that woman.

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><p>When Harry had finished reading he found himself shedding a small tear. It was frustrating to read Sirius's concerns about Pettigrew when all Harry wanted to do was shake the diary and scream "He's betraying you!". And then it was strange to hear about his father, his Grandmother. She sounded like the homely, motherly sort. His first thought when Harry had read about her was of Mrs Weasley, for whom Harry held a place in his heart. Despite this he couldn't help but wish that it was his Grandmother he went to stay with in the summer, who baked him pies and washed his socks.<p>

Harry stored the diary beneath his pillow before going downstairs. The past few days had seen the Weasley's starting to repair themselves, and it was almost like the old days. Still a cloud seemed to hover above the Burrow, a constant reminder of their loss. Harry had noticed that George rarely smiled, let alone crack jokes like he had used to. He managed to muster up a little grin as he passed Harry a box filled of Weasley Wizard Wheezes products though.

"Did you like your gloves Harry, dear? Ginny did ever so well didn't she," Mrs Weasley beamed proudly at her daughter.

Ron was sat at the table with Hermione perched on his knee. It still took some getting used to, seeing them as a couple. "Happy Birthday, mate," Ron said, passing over the latest in broom maintence gear. It had seemed like forever ago that Harry had received his first one from Hermione.

He smiled at them all, but really he wanted to be back upstairs, delving deeper in to Sirius's old world.


	3. Summer Just Got Interesting

2nd July 1977

"Well our summer just got more interesting," James announced. He tossed the letter that had just arrived across the table towards me. It landed in the middle of my bowl of cornflakes. I tutted as I shook off the droplets of milk, thankfully the writing hadnt been smudged. It was Lily's writing, all small and loopy and girly. I raised my eyebrows at James.

"Been promised a shag, have you?" I said.

James rolled his eyes. "Just read it," He ordered.

_Dear James,_

_Remember when I told you about my Great Uncle Alfred? Well he's going to France for the summer and needs somebody to house sit for him. He lives in this huge old country house that's pretty much away from everything. I'm going to tell him I'll do it, but only if you'll come with me. I hope you're having a good summer so far and that you and the boys haven't got in to too much trouble already! I miss you._

_Love, Lily._

"You going?" I asked him.

"Might as well. A huge country house to ourselves all summer? Think of the oppurtunies, Sirius! Think of the parties," James cried. He gazed up at his kitchen ceiling as if he could just envision himself swaggering around like lord of the manor, draped in a fur coat with some form of cane in his hand.

"That's if Lily will let you," I said.

"She will. I reckon she'll really want to let loose this summer. I mean, its our last shot of freedom before we go in to the real world. My dad keeps going on at me to get a job, I said to him I've barely just hung up my Hogwarts robe," James rolled his eyes at the injustice of this.

He wrote Lily a reply that he wouldn't let me see, which probably means that it was tremendously gushy. Then we began drawing up a list of people we could convince Lily to invite along. The whole of our old Gryffindor house made the cut, with a handful of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaws in between. It probably goes without saying that no Slytherins were considered.

"Are we not inviting our good pal Snivellus?" I asked.

"He wishes. He'd probably be stalking Lily with a hard on for the whole summer," James remarked.

We both sniggered and attached the list to James's letter.

James stretched his arms behind his head. "Gets a bit boring being a lord of leisure, doesn't it?" He said.

"You still got that spare broom? Let's go and play a bit of Quidditch," I suggested.

"Fine, but let's not go too far. I don't want to miss Lily's letter," James said.

God am I glad that I'm not attached to anyone. I don't think I could cope with drowning in my own emotions every minute of the day.


	4. On The Train

4th July

Currently sat on the Muggle train with the boys on the way to Lily's Great Uncle Alfred's. If I ignore the unfamiliar scenery streaking past the windows and the Muggles wandering up and down the corridor, its easy to pretend that we're simply on our way to Hogwarts to start a new school year. It's strange that we'll never be going back. Adults always tell you that you'll miss school once you've left, and despite our denial of this fact it turns out to be painfully true. But anyway, enough with the reminiscing, this summer is going to be one to remember.

James managed to persuade his dad to buy us two crates of beer. "Fine, but don't tell your mother," He winked. The man is a legend.

Then we were off, lugging with us our bulging suitcases, to catch the train. Remus met us three stops down, and Peter is getting a lift to the house. Right now I'm the only one of us awake. James's glasses have gone askew on his face and there's a trail of dribble glistening on his chin. Where's a camera when you need one? Moony is all tucked up in the corner, his coat draped over him, obscuring his face. I've never been a great sleeper, it takes me forever to drift off and usually four hours is all I need to function.

So all I can do is sit here and write. I'm not too bored though. There's a seriously fit Muggle bird who keeps walking past the compartment. I reckon she's clocked me and is trying to make me notice her. Maybe I'll get up and track her down.

Yeah, I think I will.


	5. Wandless

Harry was sat alone under the shelter of a tree in the Weasley's garden. The sun was setting now, casting blood red streaks across the pale lilac sky. Sirius's diary was spread out on his lap, he'd been reading it for the past hour. Harry heard foosteps coming his way. He looked up, squinting through his glasses; all of the reading had made him tired. Ron and Hermione were walking down the path towards him.

"Mum said dinner'll be ready in five minutes," Ron announced.

"Fine," Harry said shortly. He wanted to get back to his reading.

"So how is it?" Hermione asked, nodding at the diary.

"Weird," Harry said truthfully, "I'm reading it all, trying to imagine it all happening, and I can't. When he writes about my dad it's like I'm reading about a character, somebody who isn't real. And he's my dad. How can I feel like that?"

"Well," Hermione began tentaviely, "You never really _knew _him, did you?"

Ron shot her a look.

"I'm sorry but it's true! I didn't mean to offend you, Harry," Hermione said quickly.

"You didn't," Harry sighed, "You're right."

"Let's go in and get something to eat. You can tell us more," Ron suggested.

Harry nodded and got up, tucking the diary beneath his arm as the three of them walked back inside.

* * *

><p>5th July 1977<p>

"Oh God. My head. Sirius my head! I think it's been replaced with a bag of wet sand," James moaned, the first words I heard that morning. Me, still being half asleep, groaned and waved my hand to shut him up.

"Early. It's too early," I moaned. My stomach was churning.

"Sirius it's one in the afternoon," James announced.

I was all ready to get up after that, but James fell back asleep almost straight away. So I decided I might as well write whilst I wait for him to rise again. I can only remember half of yesterday. The sober half. But I'll see if I can stretch my memory far enough to conclude how we both ended up in this state.

We arrived at the train station near Alfred's around two o'clock in the afternoon. Lily was there to meet us. As soon as she saw James she ran over and jumped in to his arms, winding her legs around his waist. This, I felt, was too much. James looked positively gleeful at this greeting whilst Remus and I took a large interest in the ground. We'd already seen enough of James and Lily's tongue wrestling to last us a life time.

"Will you put her down now, Prongs? You don't know where's she been," I said.

Lily shot me a look over James's shoulder. She jumped down to shove me playfully on the shoulder. "Honestly James can't you come anywhere without the whole bloody Motley crew following?" She said, but she was smiling.

"You've missed me really Lil, don't lie," I said.

Lily rolled her eyes. We gathered up our bags then followed Lily out of the train station, across the humble little village, and down a winding country lane. It was quite a pretty place, really. You know, if you were into that sort of thing. I just wanted to go and get pissed.

"Who's joining us?" Remus asked Lily.

"Well I got the list you sent," Lily replied, "I had to be pretty brutal. I'm not really supposed to have anyone but me and James in the house so I could only choose a few. Alice and Frank are coming, and Andromeda."

"That's it?" James cried.

"That's enough!" Lily retorted, "There's nine of us then."

"Well I'm glad you invited Andy," I said, "I haven't seen her in a while."

"Wait, nine?" Remus said suddenly, "Don't you mean eight?"

"God Lil, we've only been away from school for two weeks. Don't tell me you've forgotten how to count already?" James teased.

"Oh I forgot to mention my cousin will be staying with us. I haven't seen her since we were six, mum and dad were hoping we'd bond again," Lily explained.

"Is she fit?" I demanded to know.

"I haven't seen her for eleven years, Sirius," Lily said with a roll of her eyes, "I honestly wouldn't know."

"So she's a Muggle, then?" Remus prompted.

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Lily said. She stopped walking rather abruptly and held out her hand. "I'm going to need your wands. Ava can't find out that we're wizards," She explained.

"What!" James cried, outraged, "So we can't use magic for the whole summer?"

"I'm afraid not," Lily said.

We all reluctantly handed over our wands.

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><p><strong>The second half of this entry will be posted in the next chaper, as I feel this is getting too long. Please leave a review! :)<strong>


	6. Hangover

**Carried on from previous chapter.**

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><p>We arrived at Alfred's house about fifteen minutes later. The three of us (that's to say James, Remus, and I) froze at the top of the drive way, gaping opened mouthed. Alfred's house is simply huge, built with pale brick blanketed in a thick layer of vines and moss. There were a few worn looking, vintage cars lying unused on the gravel drive. Lily smiled.<p>

"It's lovely, isn't it?" She said.

"Jesus. If you would have told me it was this grand I'd have at least packed my best shirt," James remarked.

We walked forth across the drive and up to the wide, oak front door. Lily grapsed the heavy bronze knocker and banged it against the wood. Behind the rippled glass came the oddly disfigured outline of somebody foreign. The door opened and before us stood a girl who looked quite like Lily, only with a mane of curly strawberry hair instead of thick, dark red locks. Her eyes were green like Lily's but not as wide and sparkly. All in all she was all right looking. With enormous tits.

This girl smiled. "Hi," She said shyly.

"Boys this is Ava," Lily explained.

"James Potter," James announced, bowing low to the ground, sending himself up. God, trust him to try and nick the girl from the rest of us when he has a perfectly good looking girlfriend already. I wasn't about to let him get away with it.

"Sirius Black," I said, knocking James aside to extend my hand, "Charmed." I winked in the manner that usually had Hogwarts girls wetting their knickers. Unfortunately Ava didn't behave as fluttery as I had hoped she would. She simply gave my hand a little shake, whilst her eyes gazed behind me.

"Remus Lupin," I heard Remus say. To this Ava gave another shy smile.

"Of course, nobody calls us all that," James cut in, ruining the moment, "Call me Prongs. And Sirius is Padfoot, Remus is Moony."

"Strange nicknames," Ava observed, "Where do they come from?"

We all stared at each other, horrified. Shit. We were giving ourselves away already. We all looked at Lily desperately, relying on her quick wit and brains to get us out of this mess. She tossed her red hair over her shoulder.

"They most likely stemmed from some drunken hour. With these three, its best not to ask," She said. Reasonable.

Ten minutes later we were all settled in the huge yet cosy kitchen, our bags safely stowed away upstairs. It was awkward for a little while as we all stared in to various corners of the room, smiling politely whenever our gazes met. Then the knocker sounded again and James sprang to his feet. "I'll get it!" He yelled needlessly, running to the door.

A familiar voice called, "Hey!" and the next second Andromeda had appeared. Andromeda and I have quite a bit in common. We're both the black sheep of our respective families, we're both quite attractive and popular with the opposite sex, and we both know how to have a good time. Barely a second after appearing she had whipped out a bottle of wine from her case.

"Bit early, isn't it?" I said.

"Shut up, Sirius. It's never too early," Andromeda resolved. Lily fetched us all wine glasses from the cupboards.

"You didn't see Peter on your way, did you?" Remus asked as Andromeda poured out the wine.

"Nope," She said, "Is he lost?"

"We're starting to think so," James said.

"Who's Peter?" Ava asked.

"Another friend of ours," Lily explained, "He should have been here by now." She glanced anxiously up at the clock.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon. He's probably lost, you know what he's like," James said. He gave Lily a reassuring peck on the cheek.

"Drink up. You'll feel better," Andromeda said. We all took huge gulps of our wine.

And after that, it's all a bit of a blur.

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><p>James eventually woke when Lily came creeping in to the room, still in her night dress with her hair hanging messily around her shoulders. She peered over at me to see if I was awake. "Morning," I yawned.<p>

"Afternoon," She corrected with a grin. She crawled on to James's bed, hovering over him to give him a kiss on the lips. Wish somebody would wake me up like that.

James opened up his eyes with much enthusiasm. He grabbed Lily and forced her beneath the covers with them. They both giggled in a sickening fashion, hands fleeing all other each other. James looked over at me. "Erm, Pads, do you want to...?" He nodded towards the door.

"Fucking charming," I muttered. I got up to wander down the corridor in search of more life.

I paused outside Remus's door. He's always been a early bird, so I assumed his hang over had hit him hard. I opened the door with a flourish and was immediately greeted with a cushion, which whizzed through the air and collided promptly with my nose. "Sirius get out!" Remus's hoarse voice yelled. I just had time to snatch a glance at him lay in bed, with, I couldn't believe it, _Ava. _

"You sly dogs!" I yelled as the door slammed shut.

Still no sign of Wormtail.


	7. Breakfast

6th July 1977

Peter finally rolled up this morning.

He came just as I was ransacking the kitchen for breakfast. I found a large pack of sausages and considered making sausage butties for everybody, but after being so uncerimoniously dumped from their bedrooms I decided they didn't bloody well deserve one. Except maybe Andy, she hadn't done anything wrong. I was just dropping the sausages in to the frying pan when there was a knock at the door. I knew instantly that it'd be Peter, which I was glad about because I had just realised I didn't have the slightest clue on how to work a Muggle cooker.

I opened up the door and there he was, possibly an inch taller than the last time I had seen him but still a little dimp all the same. I threw my arms around him.

"Wormy, thank God! I can't cope with these lot. At it like rabbits, all of them, whilst I've been cast aside like some moudly cabbage. I think they all need to remember that a dog isn't _just _for Christmas," I cried dramatically. Peter blinked at me.

"Er, at it like rabbits? Who?" He asked.

"Prongs and Lily, obviously. And now Moony has only gone and had his way with Lily's cousin!" I explained.

"Bloody hell," Peter muttered. He's the only Marauder who's still a virgin, poor sod. We've all tried on numerous occasions to find some hapless girl willing to pop his cherry, but to no avail.

I helped him shift his large, threadbare suitcase in to the hall before ordering him in to the kitchen to help me with the sausages. We heard footsteps down the hall shortly after.

"Mm, who's cooking?" Andromeda's voice called.

She came in to the kitchen dressed in nothing more than a black T-shirt that seemed far too big for her, it dangled down to just above her knees. The sleeves billowed around the elbows, giving us all false hope that maybe she was about to take flight. She looked far too Snivellusy for my liking. Peter blushed hot pink. He's always had a thing for Andy.

"Oh hello, Peter. When did you get here?" Andromeda asked him kindly. Gone are the days when she used to cruelly flirt with him, the last time she did it in resulted in Peter launching himself at her and planting a large, sloppy kiss on her lips. Andromeda went beserk and it took Peter two whole days in the Hospital Wing to recover. It's safe to say neither of them will be going down that road again.

After a few minutes of chit chat it was time to eat. Andromeda threw open the French patio doors and suggested, since it was "such a lovely morning", that we eat outside. There was a table surrounded by a few chairs waiting for us, but they looked so dusty and cobweb covered that we decided to dine on the grass instead.

James and Remus came sauntering out. "What are you doing over there?" James yelled from the patio doors.

Andromeda gave him a jolly wave. "Come and join us!" She called. So they did.

"So what happened between you and Ava?" I demanded to know the moment Remus plonked himself down.

He smiled in that shy, secret way of his. "A gentlemen doesn't tell," He said.

"Shame you aren't much of a gent then," Andromeda teased, shoving him lightly.

"Is this just a bout of summer love, or are you going to keep in touch?" I fired next.

"Jesus Pads, I don't know. Maybe," Remus shrugged.

"Fuck 'em and leave 'em?" James said, "Yeah, a _real _gent, Moons."

Remus then leaned in towards us confidentially. "I'm a bit worried. It's full moon in two nights time, where am I supposed to go?" He whispered.

"Lily said there are some huge fields just over there," James said, waving his hand vaguely in the direction of the back hedges, "Apparently they're always deserted, so you should be fine. And you'll have us."

Remus nodded slowly. "And where is she going to tell Ava we've gone?" He asked.

"I'll tell her I kicked you all out," Andromeda suggested, "I'll say you've gone to the pub to give us girls a night in alone."

"Genius," I nodded.

"So it's sorted then," James said, patting Remus on the shoulder.

"Nothing to worry about," Peter chimed in.

Remus nodded, though he still looked anxious.


	8. Full Moon

8th July 1977

Oh God. Oh fuck. Oh shitty buggaring fuck-a-duck.

Wait.

I need to go back and explain.

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><p>"Harry?" Ginny's voice called.<p>

Harry groaned. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Ginny, it was just at that particular moment in time he felt it could have waited a while. He was desperate to finish reading Sirius's entry. For a minute Harry was half tempted to throw on his cloak, then he realised how childish he would seem if anybody caught him, and so he set down the diary and called back, "I'm in the bedroom."

Ginny appeared in the doorway. She smiled. "It's not raining today, do you fancy a trip in to Diagon Alley? I could do with some new robes," She suggested.

It had been a truly dismal August, with rain gushing constantly from the sky and the wind roaring non-stop. July had been fairly warm, but they had all known it would be asking too much of the English weather to stretch its good nature in to the following month. Harry didn't reply straight away. On one hand, he'd love to spend the day alone with Ginny, since the Burrow was so packed these days that they hardly ever had a moment alone. But then July the eighth promised to be such a good entry.

Harry sighed. "Of course. We'll go now," He said. After all, the diary would still be there when they got back. If he kept selling Ginny out however, he didn't feel all too confident about the prospects of her sticking around for long.

Harry had forgotten how happy and content he felt when he was in Ginny's presence. They had always had good times walking around the lake in Hogwarts grounds together. He had known Ginny for so long now that it wasn't hard to make conversation and joke about with her. She was still his best friends little sister, somebody he was comfortable around.

Harry insisted on paying for Ginny's new robes, and then later their dinner at the Leaky Cauldron.

"How's the diary?" Ginny enquired as she blew on her soup.

"A real eye opener," Harry said.

"I bet it is," Ginny remarked, brown eyes twinkling, "Sirius told me some stories when we were staying at Grimmauld Place that time. We look like absolute saints compared to their time at school." Then she paused, eyes staring down in to her bowl.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"I've been wanting to ask you... I know it sounds silly, and I'm probably just being totally paranoid, but that diary is... _safe_, isn't it?" Ginny said slowly.

Harry understood her fears. He knew how Riddle's diary haunted her, even now.

"It's completely safe," Harry said firmly.

"I just thought... maybe somebody had sent it to you to trick you," Ginny said, then she smiled faintly, "Sorry. It's silly."

"It's not," Harry assured her, "You were looking out for me, I understand."

Ginny then surprised him by coming over all misty eyed. "So much has happened to us over the years, Harry. And now everything's almost perfect and it feels wrong. Nothing good ever lasts, something bad always comes to ruin it," She whispered.

"Ginny listen to me," Harry said, leaning forwards, "Everything is going to be all right now. All of the bad stuff is over. This is the part where we get to be happy," He said.

It was strange for either of them to wear their heart on their sleeves this way, but Harry was glad that they were being open. It made him feel closer to Ginny, something he had always craved.

Ginny wiped away one small, rare tear and blew out a heavy gust of air. It was hard, but she believed him.

* * *

><p>Harry returned to Sirius's diary later that night, whilst everybody else was asleep. By the light of his wand he read...<p>

Last night was the full moon, and, as good as her word, Andromeda put great theatrics in to throwing the four of us out in the late afternoon. "Don't come back too early!" She trilled, winking as she closed the door on us.

Remus had been quiet all day. I knew he was worried about his cover being blown. Privately, I also thought the field plan was a bit sketchy. What if some innocent Muggles decided to camp out? Or a farmer decided to check on his crops? I didn't say anything to Remus though, I didn't want to put any more pressure on his worries.

"All right, Moons?" I said as we walked out of the drive.

"Fine," He mumbled.

"Want to go down to the village for a bit first? We've got ages yet," Peter suggested.

Remus shook his head. "I don't want to risk anything. We're in the country, the sky is much clearer here," He pointed out. He had his trademark bar of chocolate in his pocket, and as we walked Remus nibbled on it. It's like his drug.

We chose the field with great care, taking in consideration its distance from the village and the thickness of the trees surrounding it. Then we sat hiding in the shadow of some bushes, waiting for the moon to grace us with her presence. James had a packet of fags on him. He's not really a great smoker, but every now and then he likes to have a puff. We passed the packet, along with the chocolate, around the four of us, not speaking, simply being.

Slowly everything turned very dark, and before we knew it a cloud had drifted aside to reveal the first half of the dreaded moon. I felt Remus shuddered beside me.

"Here goes," He whispered. He got up and disappeared behind the bushes.

The remaining three of us stood up too. We stripped off, dumping our clothes behind the bush to fetch later. We had seen each other naked countless times during the past few years, so it was nothing to stand there casually before each other, absoloutley starkers. The bush began to shake violently, and we heard the first few low growls that signalled the beginning of Remus's phasing.

Something cracked, either a twig or bone I didn't know, and we knew then that it was time for us to change too. Peter always went first so he could scurry off to press the knot in the Whomping Willow, and although there was no need to do that here we still carried on with tradition. I watched as his head shrank first, followed by his shoulders, his torso, and finally his legs, all the while sprouting fur. The rat then waited patiently for his friends to join him.

Next went James. Antlers sprang from his head, fur spread over his skin, his arms and legs elongated until he was forced to go on all fours, finally a stag. I heard a great howl from behind me. I wasted no time. No matter how many times I transformed I never quite became used to the burning sensation as fur began to grow and my face twisted in to a snout. The fleas are something I never got used to either. I buried my nose deep in to my fur, nipping at my flesh with my newly sharpened teeth.

Another howl. I looked up and there he was, the wolf in all his glory. For a moment the wolf surveyed the rat, stag, and dog in front of him, before walking slowly forwards to take a sniff. Werewolves are very temperamental creatures, you never know what mood they'll be in. Thankfully he appeared to be mellow tonight, although his yellow eyes blinked nervously in all directions, searching as his snout sniffed the air.

I thought we were safe, and then it happened.

Somewhere in the distance a shot went off. Probably a farmer with a gun, chasing away a rogue fox. The wolf didn't realise this however, and suddenly flipped. It span around and went dashing off across the field, towards the sound of the gun. The rat scuttled forwards, the stag cantering along side it. I, the dog, out striped them both, barking loudly to get the wolf to turn around.

It was to no avail. I shot through a cluster of thorn bushes, howling in pain as the thorns scraped my already flea bitten flesh. By the time I had got to the next field the wolf had gone. I threw back my head and howled. Nothing.

The rat and stag caught up. As they came towards me, they shot back up in to boys. I did the same. "Gone. He's fucking gone!" I yelled. James looked traumatised.

"What are we going to do? He could kill someone!" He cried.

"He'll never forgive himself," Peter cut in unhelpfully.

"_Shit_," I spit, punching a tree hard. My knuckles throbbed painfully.

"Right, lets transform again. Peter, you go back to the house, let Lily and Andromeda know what's happened. Whatever you do, _do not let Ava hear you_," James ordered, "I'll go to the village, keep an eye out there. Sirius, you keep searching the fields."

"What if one of us finds him?" I asked.

"We send up- _fuck_, Lily has our wands!" James snapped.

"We'll just have to meet up back here in an hour," I said.

James nodded. "Right. Go!" He said.


	9. Murmurs

**Carried on from the last chapter.**

* * *

><p>James and I met every hour, though both our searches proved fruitless every time. As the first few rays of weak, pale yellow sun fanned over the field, what little hope we both had left in us died with the fading moon. Grudgingly we accepted that we would simply have to wait for Remus to make his way back to us, and since the moon had gone in he was at least a little bit safer. We located our clothes and began to pull them on. A thought dawned on me.<p>

"He'll be running around naked," I said.

It would have been comical if the situation hadn't have been so terrible.

"We'll leave his clothes here, just in case he comes looking for them," James suggested.

"But that's his favourite jumper," I said, picking up the maroon wool, "If it goes missing, he'll be devastated."

I shrugged off my T-shirt again and put it down beside Remus's jeans, winding his jumper around my waist. Bare chested, I followed James back to the manor. We walked in quietly, thinking everybody would be asleep, but found Lily, Andromeda, and Peter sat around the kitchen table clutching mugs of tea. Their eyes searched eagerly behind us.

"Where is he?" Lily asked.

"We can't find him," I admitted.

"So you just gave up?" Peter accused.

"I didn't see you coming back to help us," I snapped. Peter looked sheepishly in to his mug.

"Where's Ava? What did you tell her?" James said.

"She went to bed early yesterday, said she felt sick. She hasn't got a clue what's going on," Lily explained.

"Which is good, I suppose," Andromeda added.

Lily made us all fresh tea and we sat silently around the table, our eyes either glued to the clock or the door. And then we heard the front door click open. The five of us made a dive to get up, tripping over each other in the doorway. Somebody was coughing hoarsely in the hall. I'd know that cough anywhere.

"Moony!" I cried.

Remus was stumbling in through the door, smeared in mud and fresh cuts and bruises. He had gone back for his clothes. His jeans were ripped at the knees, as if he had fallen a few times on the way home, and my T-shirt was drenched in sweat. He was pale and shaking, his forehead clammy. He was always queasy looking after a full moon, but I had never seen him look so desperate and ill. Lily rushed over to put an arm around his waist, helping him to walk.

"We're sorry mate. We should have been faster," James said, running over to Remus's other side.

Remus shook his head. "Never mind. Not your fault," He mumbled.

Lily guided him in to the living room. Remus flopped down on to the sofa and closed his eyes. We all stood around him, unsure of what to do. Lily was crying.

"What's wrong with him?" She sobbed, "Why is he like this?"

"He just needs some rest," James said quietly.

"And food," Andromeda added, "I'll make him some food."

They all left, but I slumped down on to the floor, resting my head against the sofa. I wanted to be there when Remus woke up. When he finally did his cheeks appeared a little rosier, but he still looked dreadful, all frail and fragile like a broken doll. I clutched his limp hand.

"Moony mate I promise I'll never fucking loose you like that again," I said in a hard voice.

"It wasn't your fault," Remus insisted.

"We looked for you. Me and James, we searched all night," I went on.

"I woke up in a barn somewhere," Remus explained, "I must have fallen asleep as a wolf. I'm bloody lucky nobody found me. What exactly happened?"

"There was a gun shot and you went running off after it. We tried to catch up with you but you just disappeared," I explained, "You're all right now though, aren't you? I mean, obviously you _aren't_, but..."

"I don't think anyone got hurt," Remus said.

"Good," I said, "_Fuck_. If anything had happened..."

"We'll have to go in to the village," Remus said seriously, "Keep our ears out for anybody saying something suspicious."

"We'll do that, mate. You stay here," I ordered.

Remus yawned. "All right. I could do with some more sleep, I suppose," He said.

"I got your jumper, by the way. Just in case," I said, unwinding his jumper from around my waist and draping it over him.

"Thanks Pads," Remus said with another yawn.

I got up and left, the guilt weighing down my shoulders. Andromeda had managed to persuade Lily to pass over her wand, and she was calmly making some sort of stew on the stove. James was sat at the table with Lily perched on his knee. She was curled up against him, her eyes closed, her breathing even. Peter was washing the pots.

"Moony suggested going down to the village to check if anybody saw something. I told him we'd go," I announced to James.

Peter looked over. "I'll turn in to Wormtail so I can sneak around without anybody noticing me. I can get in to all the little nooks and crannies that way," He suggested. I think he wanted a chance to redeem himself.

James gently woke up Lily so that he could get up. He explained where we were going. "Fine. Be careful. I think I'll go to bed," Lily yawned.

I thought of my own bed upstairs, warm and assuring. I was tempted to slope off to my room but knew that the task at hand was far more important. I trooped on beside James and Peter, trying to remain upbeat, hoping against hope that we weren't about to stumble upon bad news.

The village was surprisingly busy despite the time of morning. Peter became Wormtail, scurrying off to hide in the rafters of cafes and in to the houses of waking families. James and I split up. My first stop was the green grocers, which, like most of the shops in the village, was tiny and crammed. I sauntered down the aisles, picking up random potatoes and apples as I went. The old man at the till was watching me.

"Can I help you son?" He asked, obviously convinced I was about to loot his pears.

"Just browsing," I said, then allowed a pause before adding, "You haven't heard any strange stories, have you?"

"Strange stories? About what?" The old man questioned, growing more suspicious of me by the second.

"I'm not sure. I've heard rumours about something running in the fields last night," I shrugged, "Probably nothing."

"Mr Gregor - that's the farmer who delivers for me - he's already been by this morning. If anything had happened I would have heard it from him, I'm sure," The man replied.

"Ah. All right. Good," I said, "Bye now."

I turned around and walked out of the shop, feeling a little more optimistic than I had before. I tried the post office next, nothing. The tea shop, nothing. The library, nothing. I met up with James and Peter at the war memorial in the middle of the village. They were both smiling too.

"Not a dicky bird," I announced happily.

"Me neither," James agreed.

"One woman said she saw an animal running through the field behind her house last night," Peter said, and my heart sank, "But it was just a dog. Most likely you, Padfoot."

My heart resumed its beating. "Let's go back and tell Moony, he can stop torturing himself then," I said.

James sandwiched himself between Peter and I on the walk home, draping his arms around our shoulders. "We're not a bad little team, are we fellas," He said cheerfully.

As soon as we got back to Alfred's I got straight in to bed. I haven't been to sleep yet though, I'm still busy writing away in this thing. My eyes are drooping now though and my head feels fuzzy. I think it's time for some sleep.


	10. Clown Pants

10th July 1977

James woke me up on his way to open the window. It's funny how rooms only seem to feel so hot and airless when you're hungover. James stuck his head out of the window to take in deep gulps of air. I buried my head beneath my quilt, wishing for nothing more than a peaceful death. James eventually crawled back to his bed, and for a moment I managed to drift back off to sleep. Then there was the sound of feet pounding across the floor. I opened my eyes just in time to see James bolt across the room, his hand clapped firmly over his mouth, retching sounds slipping through his fingers. Poor sod.

I can't say last night wasn't worth the hangover though.

Yesterday morning was the aftermath of "the incident", and it was agreed that we all needed cheering up a bit. Remus's mother had sent over some sort of medicine, which perked him up straight away. It had been a job distracting Ava whilst the owl arrived, though. She's a bit naive, Ava, but it's a good thing under the circumstances.

"We should all go out," Andromeda suggested as we were all tucking in to bacon and eggs, "_Out, _out."

"But where though?" James enquired.

"Town is just a bus ride away. We're sure to find something there," Lily prompted. We all nodded eagerly, all except Remus, who looked a little apprehensive. I nudged him.

"How about it, Moons? It'll be good to get out, see the sights," I said.

He looked queasy at the though, but then he noticed Ava was staring at him hopefully. "All right," He shrugged. And although he still didn't look too keen, a glow appeared in his cheeks. He just can't resist the chance to have some fun, despite however he appears. He's a true Marauder, our Moony.

The girls went to get ready straight away, to grow their hair or dye their nails, whatever it is girls take hours doing. James stretched in his seat. "I wish we could play a bit of Quidditch," He said, "Hey, do you think if-"

"No, Prongs," We all chimed together.

"We could play football," Peter suggested.

"You and your bloody Muggle games," James snorted.

"We don't even know how to play," I pointed out.

"I do," Remus said.

"Come on, me and Moony will show you how to play. It's not hard," Peter insisted.

Rolling our eyes, James and I reluctantly followed Remus and Peter outside. Peter delved in to the derelict shed at the bottom of the garden, managing to locate a battered football squashed beneath a broken lawn mower. For goals we improvised with plant pots, placing two at either end of the garden a few meters apart.

"Right, Padfoot and Moony can be in one team, Prongs and I will be on the other. It's fair that way," Peter decided. He rarely gets to direct anything, I could tell he was getting a buzz from getting to order us around.

It was possibly the slowest, most stunted game of football played in history. Somehow, Remus and I managed to win. James was outraged, he isn't used to loosing at sport. Though the only other sport he's ever played is Quidditch. As a prize, it was agreed that Remus and I would get to have the first baths. Hot water is something of a rarity at Alfred's.

A few hours later we were all pruned and groomed, ready to leave. I stepped out of our bedroom with James, caught sight of Peter stood at the top of the stairs, and nearly died laughing.

"What the fuck are they?" I gasped between howls. James had collapsed in a heap my feet.

"What's wrong with them!" Peter cried.

"What's right with them!" I said.

He was wearing the shittiest looking flares I've ever seen. Like clown pants, they were. Remus sauntered out of his room to inspect the chaos, dressed in _normal _jeans (a sensible option also taken by James and I, an option that meant we weren't likely to have the piss ripped out of us) and a black jumper. His eyes spotted the cause for hilarity straight away, and even he couldn't resist a smirk.

"Piss off, the lot of you!" Peter yelled, "My gran got me these."

"Yeah, she probably used to _wear _them!" I chortled, causing James to collapse all over again.

"They're in fashion," Peter muttered, self consciously plucking a loose thread from his humorous choice of clothing.

"Boys, will you hurry up!" Andromeda's voice sounded from downstairs.

"Wait until the girls see!" James said gleefully.

Sulking, Peter followed us all downstairs. The girls were all gathered in the kitchen, passing around a bottle of wine from which they were taking swigs of. Andromeda promptly sprayed her gulp all over the kitchen at our arrival.

"Wow, Pete. Interesting fashion choice," She said.

"Oh fuck this. I'm going to change," Peter muttered. Peter hardly ever swears, its very out of character for him, however it's how you know he's thoroughly pissed off.

Lily shook her head. "You guys are so cruel!" She muttered, though there was a mischevious glint in her emerald eyes. She was wearing a sort of fifties style dress, all covered in tassels and sequins. It matched the colour of her eyes and showed off her long, thin legs. I had to stop myself from staring. James really is one lucky fucker.

Remus wasn't doing bad either. Ava's dress was a wrap around made of silk with Japanese flowers printed all over it. Her hair inspiration was obviously that Farrah Fawcett bird all of the Muggle boys get excited over. And then there was Andromeda. God. Does she have to be my cousin? That sounded wrong. But then how can such thoughts be helped when she decides to strut around in the tiniest black dress ever to have graced the Earth? That's the thing with Andromeda though; she's really something, but she knows it.

Peter spent ages upstairs, two whole bottles of wine disappeared before Lily decided to go up and check on him. When they came back down he was still wearing his flares. Lily cornered us all in the kitchen. "Don't any of you dare say a word. I told him they were lovely," She muttered.

"You devious little minx," James mumbled, pretending to bite her nose. Oh God, that's really not the sort of thing you want to picture hungover. Why can they never just get a room?

We had to walk all the way to the village to catch the bus. The girls began moaning about their poor feet, which apparently ached like hell in those scary looking heel things they all insist on wearing. James and Remus stepped up to the plate though and did the manly thing of giving Lily and Ava piggy backs. Peter looked hopeful that Andromeda would ask him for one, but she seemed to decide she'd be safer from groping if she walked.


	11. Hero

**Continued from last chapter. Also, I only just realised that Remus will one day be Andromeda's son-in-law, and they have no idea yet. Awkward.**

* * *

><p>It felt good to get out of the tiny village and in to a real town, all glittering and smokey around us. The sun had set during the bus ride - complete hell, by the way, bloody Muggle transport - and by the time we arrived the sky was pitch black and strewn with stars, with no full moon to be seen. Realising this seemed to calm Remus down a lot, because the crease in his brow disappeared and he began laughing at our jokes again. Ava was hanging off his arm, staring up at him with glossy eyes. Peter still had an expression reminiscent of a Mandrake.<p>

"Where to then, my dears?" James asked, clearly in high spirits.

"Let's follow them," Lily suggested. She nodded towards a throng of people dressed up to the nines who were disappearing around the corner. We skipped to catch up with them.

It turned out that the next street boasted a whole parade of bars, clubs, and pubs. Music pounded dully from inside the clubs, one tune drifting easily in to the next with every step we took. Lights dazzled our eyes and the buzzing vibe of excitement coursed through my veins as if transmitted from the air around us. One club had a long line snaking from the door to the other end of the street, with a neon sign proclaiming "Grand Opening." flashing above its door. We all looked hesitant.

"We could spend ages lining up for that place," Remus pointed out.

"But it _does _look good," Ava said from beside him.

We all agreed to join the line but leave if we still weren't inside in ten minutes. Eight minutes later, we were in. I had only ever had a fleeting glimpse of a Muggle club before: last year when the four of us sneaked in to one in London before being tossed out on to the street by the burly bouncer only seconds later. Once inside all of our senses were cut off. The thumping music stole my ability to hear a word anyone was saying and the smoke rippling across the floor clogged up my taste buds. Every step I took was mimicked by the vibrations from the towering speakers placed in every corner of the room.

I went with James to get the first round of drinks in. We still a had quite a bit of our Muggle money stashed away, so we generously ordered everyone a drink each plus a tray of neon coloured shots, which looked fairly toxic. We necked them together, pausing to shudder and hiss as the alcohol burned at our throats. James and Lily are always first on to the dance floor, and off they went, twirling in to the throng until they were completely consumed by the other dancers around them.

Andromeda was sat on one of the leather sofas, looking haughty and bored as usual. Her dark eyes scanned the room. Peter was quietly sipping his drink, his legs tucked self consciously in to the patch of shadow beside the sofa. And then there was Remus and Ava, engrossed in a conversation, though I was surprised they could even hear each other.

I felt strangely lonely, and therefor determined to search for some prey. "Coming for a gander?" I shouted down Andromeda's ear. She shrugged.

"Whatever," She called back. We each necked what was left of our drinks - which were both double Vodkas and coke - then began prowling the club, searching for anyone even vaguely attractive underneath the flashes of luminous light. I wasn't looking for anybody special, simply somebody who could entertain me for the rest of the night.

However the lightning was too tempermental to make it possible to take a good look at everyone. After a while my head was beginning to hurt, so I slipped outside. I realised that I had a cigarette in my pocket, no idea how it got there but I suspect James had something to do with it. I borrowed a lighter off some girl with poorly bleached yellow hair and lit up. Taking a huge drag, I rested my head against the damp brick wall behind me. I closed my eyes as I emitted a lungful of smoke, when I opened them again Lily was there.

She looked slightly sweaty but her eyes were sparkling. "What're you doing out here?" She asked.

"It's too stuffy in there," I complained.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Cheer up. Can I?" She said, nodding towards my cigarette.

I passed it over. "Everybodies gone off doing their own thing and now I haven't got anyone. I need a bird," I sulked.

"So," Lily said, pausing to blow smoke over her shoulder, "Go and find somebody. It shouldn't be too hard, nobody can resist the charms of Mr Black."

"Mm," I said.

Lily tossed the cigarette butt across the street, then she gripped my hand. "Come on, a dance will make you feel better," She assured me. I allowed her to lead me back inside. The dance floor was well beyond over crowded, but we managed to wiggle in somehow. Lily laughed as I span her around, and I admittedly began to have a better time. Then a skinhead with an obvious steroid addiction slammed in to Lily, causing her to go flying in to my arms.

She turned around to glare at him. "Dozy bitch," He muttered. He meant to walk away, but I gripped his inhumanly thick shoulder. I wanted to defend her in honour of James, who was no where to be seen. Lily shook her head at me, green eyes wide with fear.

"What did you just say to her?" I snapped. After all of the years spent together I now considered Lily as a sort of sister. And I was going to be damned if anybody bad mouthed my sister.

"Who do you think you are?" The thug muttered, shrugging me off, "You better get away from me, mate."

"I'm not your mate," I said hotly.

"What's going on?" James's voice sounded from behind me.

"Stop him James, he's going to get hurt," Lily begged.

"I'm not scared of _you_," The thug snarled at me, "Why don't you come outside now? You, your specky mate and your little tart."

"Speak about her like that again and I will personally rip your spine out through your mouth!" James shouted venomously. Even I would have found him terrifying, if I hadn't had known him well enough to know that he could hardly snap a broomstick in half. Still, since Lily was involved, who knew what James was capable of.

He lunged, Lily screamed, I threw myself in to the middle of the fray, aware that there was now a crowd gathering around us. I spotted the bouncer marching over. "He isn't worth it, Prongs," I mumbled down James's ear, "Let's just find the others and get out of here." James continued to breathe heavily, then reluctantly nodded and took a step back.

"That's right," The thug sneered, then he looked over at Lily, "Any time you fancy a proper shag, you leave these witless tossers and come to me, darling."

James made a noise like an angry cat. The thug turned smartly on his heel, but as soon as he was faced the other way a strangers fist flew through the air and hit his face with a crunch. With blood flowing heavily from his nose, the skinhead collapsed on to his knees, suddenly looking very faint. We all stared to get a good look at the attacker. There was a collective gasp.

"Sorry. God, what a bastard," Remus said, apologetic and mildly spoken as always.

"_Moony_," James cried.

"Oh Remus, you idiot!" Lily said, rushing forwards to hug him.

As soon as she released him, Ava came sprinting from some corner of the room and threw herself in to Remus's arms. We all watched as she just about sucked his face off. Flushed but nevertheless looking pretty proud of himself, Remus gave a small wave to the cheering crowd. I shook my head, laughing.

"Come on, let's get a kebab and go home," I said.

It all played like something out of a Muggle movie. The five of us walked through the parted crowd, like soldiers emerging from war. Andromeda and Peter scurried to follow us, demanding to know what had happened. When we got back to Alfred's it was understood that a celebration was in order. The house is now completely devoid of alcohol.


	12. Andromeda's Warning

11th July 1977

It's past midnight, I've just been downstairs to get a glass of water. The hall was bathed in darkness, except for a single strip on the floor that was lit up from the light in the kitchen. Andromeda was sat on the kitchen side, long legs dangling, a glass in her hand. She looked at me. "Can't sleep either?" She asked.

"I just wanted some water," I croaked. We'd all spent the day lounging in bed dying, so it was no wonder we couldn't sleep now. Andromeda shifted over so I could get in to the cupboard to fetch a glass.

"I still can't get over last night," Andromeda said, "Who knew Remmy had such a swift right hook?" She grinned.

"He likes to surprise people every now and then," I explained. I filled my glass up from the tap and gulped noisily as if I'd just spent a whole year in the Sahara.

"Ava's really smitten," Andromeda went on.

"I know. It's a shame though, because it'll never work," I said.

"It could," Andromeda shrugged.

"He's a wizard, Andy. A wizard with quite a hairy problem," I pointed out.

"Oh well. Summer flings and all that," Andromeda waved her hands airily.

We went silent for a few minutes. Andromeda has always been my favourite cousin. Even as children, we were the rebels of the family. The ones who got the most eye rolls and disapproving tuts at every family function. She has two sisters, but I can't stand them. Bellatrix is an absolute psycho, I remember arguing with her at a Black Birthday party a few years back and she attempted to throw the Cruciatus curse at me. I hit her back with a repelling jinx so strong it almost blew her tatty hair off. There isn't much to say about Narcissa, she's very reserved but still quite opinionated. She's a snob though.

"Is everything all right with Peter?" Andromeda asked me suddenly.

"I think so. Peter's just Peter. Why do you ask?" I said, taking a sip of my water again.

"He just doesn't seem the same. He's been very quiet, almost like he's not really with us," Andromeda said, sounding troubled, "And the other night I caught him sending an owl at three in the morning. Who sends an owl at three in the morning?"

"What were you doing up at three in the morning?" I questioned.

"Sirius I'm being serious!" Andromeda snapped.

"I believe we both are," I replied solemnly.

Andromeda gave me one of her death glares, then carried on, "He looked all flustered when I asked him what he was doing. He said he was writing to his mum. It was obvious he hadn't wanted to be caught, even more obvious that he was lying," Andromeda tutted.

"I wouldn't worry too much," I shrugged, "It's just Peter."

"Sirius you need to stop treating him like an idiot!" Andromeda cried, surprising me, "There's more to him then he lets on. You need to be careful." She looked uncharacteristically troubled.

"All right," I said finally, "I'll keep an eye on him."

I poured the remainder of my water down the sink and rinsed out my glass. Winking at Andromeda, I turned to go back to bed. Somehow I doubted I would be getting much sleep.

"Don't be an idiot Sirius," Andromeda called quietly as I made my way back down the hall.

* * *

><p>Harry felt sick. He realised that this must be the turning point, the moment when Pettigrew decided to sell his soul to the Dark Lord. How old were they all again, eighteen? And his parents had died at twenty one... That meant Pettigrew had been sneaking around, betraying them for three whole years before finally seeing to it that they were destroyed. Harry felt wrong for thinking it, but how could his parents have been so blind? He was almost angry at them.<p>

Then he realised that he was acting how Sirius had acted: underestimating Pettigrew when he had obviously been cleverer than anyone had given him credit for. Andromeda had been right. She had sensed something was up before anyone else. Did she feel guilty now, Harry wondered, wishing that she had done more to make everyone see Pettigrew's true ways?

After thinking this Harry realised that Andromeda was coming over to the Burrow that day. Harry was going to look after Teddy for a few hours whilst she went to see a friend. Harry cheered up a bit at this thought. He loved spending time with Teddy. He was a remarkably bright baby, and Harry knew that Lupin and Tonks would be immensely proud of him.

When Andromeda finally turned up Harry saw that today his Godson's hair was bright red. "You'll fit in here," Harry grinned as Andromeda passed Teddy over.

She smiled. "How are you?" She asked.

"Fine, thanks," Harry paused, then added, "I got sent a bit of Sirius's old journal the other day. The part where he writes about his summer. You're in it."

"Oh!" Andromeda gasped, "I remember now. Merlin, what must you think of me?" Andromeda laughed.

Harry smiled. Then hesitantly he said, "I'm up to the bit where you warned Sirius about Pettrigrew."

Andromeda sighed. "I was right too, wasn't I?" She muttered, smoothing down Teddy's hair.

"I can send it to you after I've done reading it, if you like," Harry offered.

Andromeda nodded. She kissed Teddy goodbye and Disapparated. Harry took Teddy out in to the garden, he seemed to like it best there. Harry sat down on the step with his Godson on his knee. Teddy writhed in his arms, trying to catch passing butterflies in his fat fists. "Maybe I should have wrote a journal for you," Harry sighed, "I would have had plenty to write about."


	13. Minister Black

12th July 1977

"We should all go camping!" James announced enthusiastically. We all stared at him. James likes to come up with all of these mad fucking ideas every now and then, the trick is to just humour him.

"Camping? With insects and no toilets and mouldy tents?" Andromeda said, wrinkling her nose just thinking about it.

"Yes! In the great outdoors! Experiencing lift as Mother Nature intended us to," James said.

"Have you been drinking?" Lily enquired, placing a hand on James's forehead.

"What do you think Wormy?" I asked Peter. What Andromeda said has really been playing on my mind, so I've been trying to make Peter feel more needed in the group. Not that I'm going to admit it to anyone, but I feel sort of guilty too. I realised that we do always leave him trailing behind a bit.

Peter looked shocked that I had asked. "Me? Whatever," He mumbled.

"I'm sure we can find an old tent in the shed. There's shed loads of shit in that place!" James said, grinning at his own bad joke. I followed him in to the back garden to help him look.

We ransacked the shed from top to bottom, sweeping every corner and being showered with spiders, and other insects that didn't look like they belonged on the planet, as we did so. Eventually we found a crumpled pile of canvas on top of some rusted tins of paint. James bravely shook the canvas so that it rolled out across the grass. A set of metal poles tied together with frayed rope clanged to the ground.

"Right then," James said, surveying the tent and poles with a dumbfounded expression.

"You've never put up a Muggle tent before, have you?" I said, taking care to keep my voice low.

"Nope," James confessed.

"Wanker," I muttered.

Luckily for us Ava was making her way over. "I used to go camping all the time as a child," She explained, "I've sort of missed it." She crouched down and untied the rope from around the poles.

"You know what you're doing then?" James asked.

"Of course," Ava said, she looked up with a hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun, "Don't tell me you've never put up a tent?"

"I have!" James lied, sounding defensive, "It's just been a long time, that's all. It's like riding a bike though I suppose. Once you've remembered where everything goes..."

I let him ramble on, biting down on my lip to stifle my laughter. When I felt the first drop of blood I knew it was best to go inside. "He really is a fantastic bullshitter, our Prongs," I laughed finally when I got back to the others.

"Hopefully the excitement will fizzle out soon," Lily sighed, watching James and Ava bicker over the tent poles, "I don't really fancy camping. I've only been once, didn't find it all that great really."

"We'll bring plenty of beer," Andromeda chirped.

"Are we all going to fit in that?" Remus asked anxiously as Ava began constructing the tent. It didn't look big enough to fit a set of triplets in. I clapped Remus on the back.

"We can do the manly thing and sleep under the stars," I suggested.

"As long as you don't spend the whole night making us look for the Wolfstar with you," Remus said with an eye roll, but he was grinning. I suppose I did sort of pester them during Astronomy lessons.

Ten minutes later James demanded that we all stand outside to view his accomplishments. Well, Ava's accomplishments. The tent was the sorriest looking thing I've ever seen. It was all frayed and darned badly in several places. The canvas was covered in an assortment of sticky stains and there was a strange smell coming from the entrance.

"James if you really loved me then you wouldn't force me to sleep in that thing," Lily remarked finally.

"I think you speak for all of us there, Lil," Andromeda muttered. She was looking at tent like it was a decaying animal. James looked thoroughly dismayed. He was staring at me, knowing that I would eventually weaken beneath his puppy dog gaze and come up with some marvellous idea to save us all. Well, what are best friends for?

"We'll buy a new one. A bigger, better one. Then we'll get a few bottles of vino and turn it in to some sort of new wave, rustic party experience. Yeah?" I said.

Remus shrugged. "Sounds plausible," He said.

Slowly but surely everyone came round to the idea. I feel inspired to pursue a career as Minister for Magic. I'll simply turn everything in to a party, promise everyone a bottle of cheap plonk, and get some bird to get her knockers out for world peace! God, the world needs more people like me.

* * *

><p><strong>I would like to thank Ali G for being my inspiration.<strong>


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